Sam Lewis - The City and I

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 17 / 3 / 2012

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Review

There are precious few musicians who have the complete package. Sam Lewis does. He has the songs, tuneful and lyrically intelligent, and vocals that it’s impossible to ignore and easy to love. On his second album, following on from 2009’s ‘Everything You Are’, the former KT Tunstall guitarist fleshes out his sound but still manages to hang onto the intimate sound of that debut album. Apart from writing gorgeous melodies that spin inside your head for days at a time, it’s those warm, inviting vocals that initially pull you into the songs on ‘The City and I’. Sounding uncannily like Ron Sexsmith on more than a handful of songs on this latest album is no bad thing, and ‘The City And I’ easily stands up against any Sexsmith album. It’s that good. There’s a nice, laidback, almost lazy feel to the vocals which gives a bittersweet feeling to the songs. On the opening song, ‘What Did I Do’ there are times when it you wonder if Lewis is on the verge of either breaking down or falling asleep, but it’s a sensation that keeps you interested; in spite of the dream-like sense of the vocals they still sound like Lewis means every single word and there’s this soulfulness and honesty in the vocals that will have you believing. Like most music lovers, I’m a sucker for a pretty melody and Lewis certainly knows how to create those. There’s not a song on ‘The City and I’ where you are struggling to make out the tune; again like Sexsmith, Lewis pens sweet melodies but of the type that you will never tire of, never annoyingly sickly. It’s the combination of those attractive melodies and his vocals that make this latest collection of songs from Lewis so appealing. Having been round the block touring with KT Tunstall for five years has obviously given Lewis the opportunity to hone both his musical and songwriting skills and it shows in every single note on ‘The City and I’. There’s not a wasted second, not a word that you’d wish to change. ‘The City and I’ is, in fact, a pretty much perfect collection of real songs. Although more of a band album than his debut Lewis still makes every song sound like he’s singing it just for you. He’s lost none of the intimacy displayed on that first album. Perhaps the most appealing thing about ‘The City and I’ is that it doesn’t actually fit into any given genre, for all the talk about Sam’s work being a mix of blues, country, folk and soul the finished product is actually just good, solid pop/rock songs. How can anyone put songs of the calibre of ‘More Than You’ll Ever Know’ into any one category? It’s classic songwriting performed immaculately and sung with passion. What more do we need? Like all good music Sam’s songs will move you in one way or another. The title track is an absolute beauty; a warm reflective song with an impressive vocal performance from Lewis and a stunning melody that simply won’t leave you alone. There are nice touches throughout the album that add texture and atmosphere; something as simple as the double bass on ‘Beauty in a Bar’ somehow transports you into that very bar, listening to Lewis and his band while drowning your sorrows. Without a doubt the biggest surprise of the year so far and an album that you’ll want to listen to as a whole time and time again, the well-kept secret that was Sam Lewis is about to break wide open.

Track Listing:-

1 What Did I Do
2 Here On the Line
3 Words Count for Nothing
4 More Than You'll Ever Know
5 Not Anymore
6 The City and I
7 Sense of Time
8 Beauty In a Bar
9 Don't Change Your Heart
10 Dead Dog Town
11 All the Wrong Places

Band Links:-

http://samlewistunes.com/
https://www.facebook.com/samlewistunes
https://twitter.com/samlewistunes
https://www.youtube.com/user/samlewist
https://plus.google.com/10570044761413